My CD collection is not filled with Thanksgiving music. Thanksgiving is not widely celebrated and that likely contributes to a thin collection of music related to this holiday. Hymns Triumphant, as mentioned in this blog entry, is about as good as I can recommend. Now we move into the Christmas season where music abounds. And it ranges from the trivial to the majestic. I’ll try to stay with what I think are higher quality recommendations. Among my favorites are the classics directed by Robert Shaw.

Even if I’ve recommended this recording in the past, it is worth another plug. Christmas With Robert Shaw is my first choice for this coming holiday season. I cannot speak to the differences between the 1995 and 2008 versions so I am linking to the older one as that is what I have.

And now a word about the above photograph. It looks like my wife and I will adopt Kipling, a rescue Bichon Frise needing a good home. He is still thin and his hair was matted, hence the close crop. Over the next few months we hope to return this lively dog to his natural beauty. We have not had a dog for about 30 years so this will be a change in our household. I hope Kipling will learn to enjoy music as much as I do as he is not going to have much choice in the matter.